Are there any Jehovah’s Witness parents here, I could ask some questions to 😊

[Fantastic5]

My DS has become friends with a lovely little Jehovah’s Witness. We have had a few play dates and all seems well. I just didn’t think this was allowed in the Jehovah’s world! The little boy doesn’t seem to know why he doesn’t celebrate Christmas or birthdays ect. And seems to think he can go to the Halloween disco! Other children I have met in this religion seem very clued up on being a JW. The mum has never came out and told me they are JE either. I had to find out from a different source. I’m so confused. I totally respect the region an have no problem with my DS playing with a JW, I would just like to understand more about it #clueless

Hi Fantastic5, I’m a JW and a parent. Feel free to ask me me anything you want....I’ll try and answer the best I can. All JW’s are different and some are stricter about some things than others. We all believe the same fundamental things, but some things can be more grey areas and come down to personal preference and are based on our own personal opinion. My kids have always gone to play with certain school friends. I know plenty of other Witness parents that do too. Some JW kids can have a tendency to be very black and white about things, usually if they have very black and white patents and haven’t developed the ability yet to realise not everything is always black and white. I know I can make different decisions of what I find to be okay, compared to other parents...a lot of things are a personal conscience thing. I also don’t go around blurting out that I’m a JW and neither do my kids unless they’re in a situation where we need to explain why we don’t do certain things. I am totally open about it (in a not in your face kind of way) and want people and friends to feel relaxed about asking me questions. One misconception many have about Witnesses is that we are out to shove our beliefs down their throat...witnesses call on homes purely to find people searching for answers to questions that the bible can answer. I hope this answers some of your questions. 🙂

I'm not a JW, I'm a Baptist.

Having said that, two JWs came to my door yesterday and were more than happy to answer my questions and engage with me as I explained what I believed.

I think it would be completely fine to strike up a conversation with his parents if you're unsure about anything regarding their son. Any I've met have been lovely.

Thankyou so much Amwa. I only really know what iv read online 🙈 probably not one of my best ideas. As I seem to have only got information about very strict JW. I have explained to my DS about the beliefs of JW and I’m so lucky hes just the most understanding and non judgmental little dude ever. It hasn’t put him up nor down. He has asked if he can skip the Halloween disco to have his friend round for a play date instead (no Halloween activity at all here) would this be okay to ask his mum if I explain? My DS does not want his friend to be alone when all the other children are at the disco. Also I was wondering if there’s any rules I should have in my house when he’s here ( so as not to put the little boy in an uncomfortable position) what will happen at Christmas time if he should come over and I have a tree up? Obviously I can’t not put a tree up as I have 3 children of my own, and I wouldn’t want for the boys not to be friends because of a tree 😩

Hi ya! Obviously I can’t answer for the friends parents, but firstly I just think how kind it is of your little one to think of his friend by offering to forgo the Halloween disco so he could come to yours. You have obviously done a great job at encouraging compassion and thoughtfulness. My kids had friends at school like this and it makes such a huge difference for them to have understanding friends! I would just ask and explain what your son said and see what they say, but I can’t see any reason why not if there is nothing Halloweeny going on. . As regards the Xmas tree etc, I know speaking personally although we can’t completely avoid all the Xmas stuff everywhere, for our kids sake we would try and limit or avoid putting them in situations that could make them feel awkward or making them feel like they’re missing out, any more than they already do. My suggestion would be to just have a chat about it and ask what they feel happy with. The best place to get the only truthful answers and explanations of what and why we believe what we do or why we do/don’t do certain things is www.jw.org which answers all the questions people generally have and will give you a better idea of what we’re about. :)